Yours, forever - The love story of Russia's last Tsar and Tsarina.

She is in my house.

I

A few days after Elizabeth's family arrived, Sergei paid a visit to Alexander III. During this visit, as lunchtime was near, Alexander invited him to stay and have lunch with the whole family, and Sergei accepted his brother's invitation. The table was filled with wonderful food and you could hear the clink of cutlery all the time.

While everyone was at the table the conversation flowed easily. Alexander was sitting at the headboard and listened attentively to Sergei, who told news of his family life. Suddenly, Sergei mentioned his father-in-law's visit with joy and pride in his voice:

-- Father-in-law Louis and his family have come to stay with us for a visit of two months. You know brother, it's wonderful to have them here, and Ella is absolutely delighted.

Nicholas, who was drinking a glass of water, felt his heart pounding and choked. Learning that Elizabeth's family was in the country, and that Alix was probably with them, made him choke momentarily on his drink. His cheeks turned red and while his mother and brothers told him to raise his arms to help the choking pass, he tried to pull himself together.

Alexander, very perceptive, looked sideways at his son and raised an eyebrow. With his deep voice and while eating a chicken thigh said:

-- Is everything alright, Nicholas?

Nicholas, embarrassed, nodded and still recovering from the choke said:

-- Yeah, dad, I am fine, it was my lack of attention when I drank the water.

There was a silence of a few seconds where everyone looked at each other; suddenly Nicholas, trying to hide a smile and feeling the stern look of his father on himself, asked Sergei:

-- So uncle, did Alix come along with them? We became friends with her during your wedding party.

Sergei, who was eating the potatoes and carrots that were on his plate, answered calmly, not imagining what was going on in Nicholas's heart:

-- The whole family came, except for Irene, who stayed at home. Mr. Louis, Ernest and Alix are with us in our house. I like Ernest, I like his jokes. You need to see how happy Ella is to have Alix around, she even took my sister-in-law shopping in the city and apparently the girl would like to learn Russian because she bought a book that teaches our language. You know, she looks very beautiful, she grew up and became a beauty. It would make the joy of any man who married her, not to mention that she is very intelligent too.

Hearing Sergei talk about Alix, Nicholas's heart beat with joy. During these five years he had taken an interest in some young ladies of the court, and even thought himself in love with a certain princess Olga, the daughter of a nobleman, but the image of Alix remained alive in his memory. The news of her presence in Russia, and so close to him, brought him a sense of joy and anticipation of seeing her. Suddenly the young man came back to reality and felt his father's eyes on him. He tried to mask his feelings but it was impossible.

As lunch followed Nicholas couldn't focus on the food and put the plate aside. His joy was so great that he could only think of meeting with Alix and remaking the bonds of friendship of years ago. He no longer listened to what was being said around him and only thought of a way to take advantage of the visit of the Hessians to find out if there could be something more serious between Alix and him or if they would be friends for life. Having finished lunch, the family dispersed: Xenia and little Olga went to dance class, Michael and George went to play on the terrace, and Empress Maria went to prepare for a charity event in the city. Sergei said goodbye to everyone and left. As he walked towards the room, Nicholas was surprised by a strong grip on his shoulder that made him squirm: it was his father's hand.